By Katie Knapp Schubert
Bellevue, NE – Emergency management officials in Bellevue have several boats ready in case they're needed for evacuations.
Bellevue Fire Battalion Chief Joe Gibilisco says the Papio-Missouri River Natural Resources District and National Guard soldiers are monitoring the city's levee system around the clock. The NRD says the river is four and a half to five feet below the top of the levee. Issues with sand boils have been reported. Gibilisco says buses are on standby at Bellevue's fire stations.
He says first responders are also compiling names and addresses of special needs individuals. Officials have identified three mobile home parks: Paradise Lakes, Green Acres, and Sam's Trailer Court, as target hazards. Gibilisco says first responders have visited all three mobile home parks and handed out information to residents.
It's estimated that 1,200 to 1,500 people live in the flood inundation area. That area includes a softball complex, where nearly 400 nine and ten-year-olds are currently staying.
Bellevue's Haworth Park is flooded. The entrance to that park from Highway 370 is closed.